Mississippi State vs. Georgia odds, line: College basketball picks, predictions from proven model on 16-8 run

It's been 10 years since Mississippi State last qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but the Bulldogs are hoping a strong finish to the regular season and deep run in the Southeastern Conference Tournament will be enough to end the drought. Mississippi State (18-7, 6-6) has won two in a row and six of 10 and faces host Georgia (10-15, 1-11) on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET from Stegeman Coliseum. Mississippi State will be without starting guard Nick Weatherspoon, who was suspended indefinitely by the school Saturday, citing a violation of team rules. The Bulldogs are favored by 6.5 points in the latest Mississippi State vs. Georgia odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 151. Before making any Mississippi State vs. Georgia picks of your own, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine's proven computer model.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 16 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 16-8 run on top-rated college basketball side picks either against the spread or on the money line. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now the model has dialed in on the Mississippi State vs. Georgia spread. We can tell you it is leaning under, and it has a strong against-the-spread pick that cashes in nearly 60 percent of simulations. That one is only available at SportsLine.

After losing games to SEC heavyweights LSU and Kentucky by just four points each, Mississippi State has posted back-to-back double-digit road wins over Alabama and Arkansas to move into a tie for sixth in the conference. It is 4-3 in road games this year. Mississippi State beat Georgia in the only meeting last season.

Senior guard Quinndary Weatherspoon (18.1 ppg) has carried MSU of late, besting his average in six of the past eight games, including 27 each in the loss to LSU, in a win at Mississippi and in a win over Auburn. In the absence of Nick Weatherspoon, junior guard Tyson Carter (9.3 ppg) stepped up and scored 18 points in Saturday's victory at Arkansas.

But just because Mississippi has played well on the road of late does not guarantee it will win or even cover against Georgia.

The host Bulldogs are 8-6 at home and have won nine of the past 11 games in the series, including seven of the past 10 at home. Mississippi State has lost by double digits in five of its last nine losses to Georgia. The host Bulldogs are also 9-5 at home against the spread.

Georgia also will have a slight edge in rebounding. It is ranked 21st in the country at 39.8 rpg, compared to 146th for MSU (36 rpg). Sophomore forward Nicolas Claxton (12.8 ppg) has had a solid run, equaling or bettering his average in seven of the past 10 games, including 18 against both Texas A&M and Texas.